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Anthony - Tuesday, September 22, 2009   Making Michigan More Bicycle-Friendly! Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (322 votes cast) There is an incredible amount of research suggesting that the bicycle can solve a plethora of problems present in this country - pollution, obesity, traffic congestion, etc. Encouraging people to ride a bicycle for utilitarian purposes (not just recreational!) is a wonderful way to solve many problems at once.

Alan Bean - Tuesday, September 22, 2009   Catalog Michigan's Recerational Trails Using the Google Street View Partner Program Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (330 votes cast) Google now has a bicycle camera to get into more remote public spaces for their Street View service. http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/partners/index.html Michigan's paved non-motorized pathways are wonderful resources (Pere Marquette Rail Trail in Midland, the lakeside pathway in Petoskey/Charlevoix, etc.), but many, if not all, of these pathways do not have an easy to navigate online clearinghouse that provides detailed trail information. Someone at the State level could reach out to Google and get our State's prime recreational assets “on the map,” so to speak, for a national audience. Then, once the Google Street View imagery is available, users looking for a staging area or a unique habitat can go online and see the actual place up close and with detail. Parking lot conditions and capacity, as well as trail quality can be easily viewed before a trip is made. Michigan has high-quality paved non-motorized pathways, and this would be an excellent way to showcase this resource. Best of all, it's free! (If Google agrees to bring their Bike Cam to Michigan's pathways.)

Benjamin Eichler - Tuesday, September 22, 2009   Revenue From Rest Areas Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.1 (307 votes cast) Currently, the State maintains rest stops on our highways at the expense of the tax payer. As a frequent traveler, I appreciate this greatly. However, I believe we should lease these areas, for a fee, to fast food restaurants that cater to travelers. Not only would the State no longer have to fund the rest stops and their maintenance, but would in fact earn money from the restaurants and, at the same time, begin to offer a better service to travelers than the current vending machines.

Sean - Monday, September 21, 2009   Fixing Michigan... Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (315 votes cast) Despite all the pleas, petitions, and protests there is nothing that the government (federal or state) can do to help Michigan, but there is a lot they can do to cripple and distort it. A state that is suffering from an excess of taxation and regulation will not solve it's problem by offering more of the same. The greatest thing that the government can do is simply step out of the way (and shrink considerably) and let the market restore order to a state that was once great. More government spending and taxation will not solve the problem. Our fellow Michiganders are fleeing the state like never before and our graduates aren't even second guessing staying in state. Who can blame them? With this happening how can we expect to attract other residents to our great state? So what does a deteriorating state do solve it's economic and budget woes? They raise taxes, add new regulations, increase the minimum wage, add entitlement programs and burden the state with liabilities. Our manufacturing sector will continue to decline as it leaves the state, and then the country, all together. Jobs will follow and they won't be coming back. To restore prosperity we need to go back to the principles that made our state great. We need a business friendly environment and must attract entrepreneurs, innovators, and other workers to come set up shop in this state. We can do this by abolishing our state income tax and significantly reduce property taxes, while striking down all the horrendous workplace regulation. We need to let the unions take a walk and not patronize self-indulgent businessmen. We have to stop adopting the faulty Keynesian logic and entitlement mentality that has plagued Michigan for decades. If we blame our problems on the free market (the exact opposite of the real cause) then we will further spiral down a dark road in which escaping gets increasingly more burdensome and difficult. Our leaders have failed us, and it's time for us to restore order to our state

Jeffery Summerfield - Monday, September 21, 2009   An idea to address all categories Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (310 votes cast) Michigan has its own vast natural resources. It has its own infrastructure. It has its own unique geographical situation which is conducive to both tourism and global commerce. We have tremendous agricultural and manufacturing resources. We have some of the best medical resources in the country. We even have the foundation in place for building our own military. The question I would like to raise is why we are not actively weighing the benefits and drawbacks of secession. It seems to me that each of the presented categories are areas in which the federal government is restricting MI without offering us anything of substance in return which we could not already provide for ourselves were we independent. This isn't just a financial matter, it is also stifling education of our youth, providing disincentives for regional industrial development, hamstringing of our efforts at protection of our environmental resources, and preventing us from engaging in fair international commerce. As an independent and sovereign state, we could certainly maintain civil and close relations with the US. I certainly don't mean to propose seceding on anything but amicable terms. But the benefits are too great to ignore. Every ship going from the Atlantic into Chicago has to pass through the Straits of Mackinac. Not only would this be an enormous source of income, but we could mandate environmental standards of ships in order to protect our water resources. We could insure that our tax money gets spent in our state. We could abandon rules which only exist to benefit other states, making us more efficient teachers, farmers, global business leaders, and technological innovators. The alternative is that MI will become to the country what Detroit and Flint have become for us. The US will bail out corrupt and failing industries, but not cities. Not states. We are not "too big to fail" in their eyes. We have nothing substantial to gain by staying, and much to gain in going.